New Sunderland Bridge Project, United Kingdom

The New Sunderland Bridge or the New Wear Bridge will be the tallest of its kind in the UK, spanning over the River Wear in Sunderland city. The £133m landmark bridge will connect Pallion and Castletown. The project received planning permission from the Sunderland City Council in April 2010. It will serve the vehicular, cyclist and pedestrian traffic as an important gateway to the city centre and a symbol of Sunderland.

The bridge is being built as part of the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC) project which aims to provide a new link from the A19 to the Port of Sunderland. The SSTC is a partnership programme planned by the Sunderland City Council and Sunderland arc (Area Regeneration Company).

The SSTC programme involves construction of the Sunderland Bridge for the development of Sunderland and the North East, and allied highway connections to connect the existing road network. Besides improving access from the port to the A19 Hylton Bridge, the programme will also help in urban regeneration of the riverside area. The scheme will ease traffic congestions on the existing city bridges, create job opportunities and support regeneration of sites including the Farringdon Row, Vaux and Groves and the city centre.

Construction contractors for the project are scheduled to be appointed in 2012. The project is expected to be complete by late 2015.

The New Sunderland Bridge design

The Sunderland Bridge was designed by the Stephen Spence architects and structural engineers Techniker in 2005. The New Sunderland Bridge will be a 336m long unique cable-stay bridge with a deck width of 30m. It will have two traffic lanes in each direction alongside dedicated cycle and pedestrian ways.

The bridge will have two curving steel towers of different heights. The higher tower will measure about 187m at its highest point, while the smaller one will be 140m high. Deck surface of the bridge will be about 16m to 20m from the surface of the River Wear. The bridge will be the tallest in the UK.

The design won the first prize in RIBA for the New River Wear Crossing Competition among 35 participants in September 2005. It was held by the Sunderland City Council, Sunderland arc and English Partnerships. The residents of Sunderland supported the iconic bridge design against the cheaper option of a basic beam bridge road in a City Council's consultation.

The New Sunderland Bridge project

Plans to construct the bridge were started in 2003 by Sunderland arc in its Investment Strategy to provide a new gateway to the city. The funding, however, posed an obstacle for the project implementation. In November 2008, the Cabinet backed the iconic Wear bridge despite concerns over the cost. In December 2009, a planning application was placed with the Sunderland City Council, which granted permission in April 2010.

The total road length including bridge span will be 3.2km. Ownership of lands has been secured. The proposal includes six highway linkages to the bridge and development of about 41 acres of the site. The project will also include landscaping and engineering works, and improvements to A19 Interchange and Wessington Way.

It will be a new route into the central city by connecting European Way in Pallion on the south with Wessington Way, Castletown on the north side of the river. The new bridge will provide a direct connection to the City Centre from the A19 and A1231 routes. The council chose the route following a public consultation in 2005. The project will have a potential to create 11,000 new jobs and many other economic benefits.

Contractors

The contractors involved in the project include Spence Associates, Techniker Consulting, Jacobs Engineering for highway design and Corderoy for cost consultancy.

Financing

In July 2008, the UK Government, through the Department for Transport (DfT), committed to funding £98m towards the bridge, approach roads and associated associated infrastructure. The remaining funds will be contributed by the One North East and Sunderland City Council.